


Green Room Blues

by voleuse



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Episode: s09e01-02 Avalon, Episode: s09e03 Origin, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:55:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29231898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voleuse/pseuds/voleuse
Summary: Starving works when it costs.The things they didn't acknowledge were more significant than what they showed.
Relationships: Daniel Jackson/Vala Mal Doran
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	1. The Treasure

**Author's Note:**

> Set during 9.01, 9.02, 9.03.

When the office phone rang, Daniel let it go. Too much packing to do, too many things to wrap up. Based on the missions he knew were out, there shouldn't be any situation where he, personally, would have to assist.

Eight minutes later, he turned around to find General Landry standing in his doorway. "Sir," he said. "I--" He looked at his phone. "Was that you?"

"Yes," Landry said, his eyebrows signaling that he was going to let it go, this time at least. "I need to know more about that woman who kidnapped you last year."

Daniel cleared his throat. "You're going to have to be more specific, sir."

"Hijacked the _Prometheus_?" Landry replied. "Tried to trade it for some naquadah?"

"Ah," Daniel hung his head. "Vala."

"Yes," Landry said. "Vala. SG-12 just reported in. She approached them, said she had information about an Ancient treasure we'd be interested in. Or more specifically, that _you_ would be interested in."

"I'm sure she did," Daniel said. He folded his arms. "Whether it's actually true, well."

"Are you saying we shouldn't deal with her?" Landry said. "Because she asked to come here, but if she poses a danger to the SGC--"

"No," Daniel said, feeling surprised as he said it. "No," he repeated. It felt somehow true. "She's not dangerous, not in the way you mean." 

Landry huffed. "In what way is she dangerous, then?"

"Vala is, well," Daniel paused, "she's looking out for herself first. But if she says she found something, it's certain to be interesting, at the very least."

"Do you think we can trust her?" Landry asked.

Daniel frowned. "I think it's worth giving her a chance." He thought so, anyway. Maybe.

It was a few moments before he realized Landry had left. Daniel shook his head. Went back to packing.

***

She'd looked so... _pleased_ to see him when he walked in. She'd styled her hair a different way and she was wearing--

Daniel decided to stop noticing things. He didn't have time for noticing things. 

The tablet, well. The tablet was interesting and normally he'd disappear into his office for a few days to do some cross-comparison. But.

Twelve hours. 

"I need to," he said, spotting a peculiar marking, which maybe might denote a shift in tone. "In my office," he continued, "I think it's possible this. Huh."

He spun on his heel and definitely did not notice Vala keeping pace beside him.

***

"Not dangerous," Landry mused aloud.

"That's not quite what I said," Daniel responded. "I meant, you know, just not death and destruction dangerous. Or, well, not death, anyway." He tugged again at the bracelet, because maybe the forty-second time he tried, he could get it off.

Landry looked sideways at him. "You know," he said, "I'm starting to suspect your mission report left out a few, let's say, _key details_."

"I included everything that seemed relevant at the time." He looked towards the room where Vala had been confined. "You might need a few more guards."

Landry turned fully to face Daniel. "When you get back from Atlantis," he said, "you and I are going to have a very long talk."

"Yeah, I thought so," Daniel sighed. Then, resigned, he made his way to Lee's lab and, he supposed, a circular saw.

***

Mitchell sprang into action when Daniel finally assented. He was barely out of the infirmary before they heard him let out an especially undignified whoop.

Daniel allowed himself to wallow in bed for a few moments longer. "I'm going to regret this," he announced.

"I do not believe that is so," Teal'c said. 

Daniel sat up. "Atlantis. I was going to _Atlantis_."

"And it shall still be there after this mission," Teal'c pointed out. 

"Not the point," Daniel grumped, sitting up and grabbing the clothes folded neatly on the chair by his bed. 

Teal'c tilted his head slightly. "If it is any consolation, Daniel Jackson, it is possible I may accompany you on this mission."

"Oh?" Daniel tugged his shirt back on. "Not that I'm not glad to spend more time with you, but honestly, Teal'c, it's hard to feel any enthusiasm at the moment."

Teal'c seemed to think that over. "Is all well with you, Daniel Jackson?"

"Putting aside the obvious?" Daniel responded, tossing the used scrubs onto the bed as he stood.

"I must say you seem especially," Teal'c said, "unsettled around Vala Mal Doran."

From across the room, Vala called out, "I can still hear you, you know."

"Don't care," Daniel responded. He turned back to Teal'c. "I'm fairly sure Vala would provoke a negative response regardless of who the victim was."

"Perhaps," Teal'c replied, "but it is unlikely that many would feel so aggravated as to throw objects at her while being treated in the infirmary."

Daniel huffed a moment. "I--"

"Daniel," Vala crooned, "could you help me with my laces over here?"

He closed his eyes. "Why do you think I would do that?"

"Well," Vala said, "you did so well taking off my clothes the last time."

When Daniel opened his eyes again, he was confronted with Teal'c, whose raised eyebrow was an inquiry on its own.

***

The others had disappeared when Daniel started putting together slides for the briefing, but Vala, of course, remained. More specifically, she remained hovering over his shoulder while he clicked through a number of files to find the images he was remembering. Her warmth was like a soft brush at the back of his neck, and--

Not noticing. He was not noticing things.

"So tell me," she said, breaking his focus, "is this King Arthur especially significant in your planet's history?"

Daniel smiled. "Only for most of what's considered Western civilization." He glanced at her before toggling to a different file. "'Western,' of course, being a vast oversimplification, and I'm not even going to start on 'civilization.' Here, look."

Vala leaned closer to peer at the tapestry he'd pulled up. "He looks rather heroic." She touched a finger to the screen. "And shiny."

"If he's a king, he's got to have a crown, right?" Daniel pointed to the figure beside Arthur. "This person, next to him, is Myrddin. Or, well, I suppose an interpretation of who he might have been, given that the historical figures of Arthur and Myrddin were probably more--"

"Do you do this with every artifact?" Vala asked. "Because while it's somewhat charming, I imagine it takes up quite a bit of time."

"Somewhat--" Daniel shook his head. "Myrddin and Arthur actually existed, probably, but legends about them have grown so much over the centuries that they're mythic figures."

Vala nodded. "And?"

"And if the stories about Myrddin are true," Daniel explained, "then he was sired by an incubus, aged backward over decades, and was the greatest sorcerer in Earth's history."

"So you think he was an Ancient," Vala said. "Or Ancienty at the very least."

"He must have been," Daniel said. He clicked over to an oil painting of Merlin facing down Morgan le Fey. "It fits with everything we know about Ancients: The seeming immortality, the ability to work wonders incomprehensible to humans. The accounts of how he acted to steward Arthur to Avalon after the king was gravely wounded, and the belief--still held by some--that Arthur would return to save his people, well, that couldn't be anything but ascension, given what we know." 

Vala shifted, seating herself on the desk beside him. "Given what we know," she echoed. 

"Yes," he replied. He scooted his chair back. "While Ancients tend to be pretty hands-off with the affairs of humans, there are a few who seem to place a good amount of faith in our potential."

Vala tipped her head. "You seem to know quite a lot about the Ancients."

"As I've said before," Daniel said, "that's kind of my job." He paused. "And there's also the fact that a rogue Ancient helped me ascend a few years ago."

She blinked. "Helped you ascend?"

"Yeah."

"To become an Ancient?" she asked.

"Yeah, once," Daniel nodded. "Well, technically once and a half."

Vala bent towards him and, almost hesitantly, slapped his arm. 

He rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm not _now_." He scooted back another inch. "It's a long story."

"A long story?" Vala responded. "You? I'm shocked."

"Could you." Daniel reached out and nudged her knee with the back of his wrist. "I really need to finish this."

She pouted for a moment, but then hopped off the desk and moved back behind him.

Daniel absolutely did not notice when she rested a hand lightly on his shoulder while he worked.

***

The trip to Glastonbury wasn't likely to take more than a few hours, but Daniel thought he ought to at least take a few books along. He was rooting through a crate that, annoyingly, he would now have to fully unpack when Vala sauntered in.

"You know," she said, "I generally prefer my men without the beard, but it does look rather interesting on you."

"Obviously your opinion was my top priority." Daniel pulled two codices out, flipped through one, then pocketed the other. 

It turned out Vala was right behind him. As he straightened up, she lifted a hand, brushed a thumb under his chin and across his jaw.

Daniel blinked. "Uh."

The smile on Vala's face was one he hadn't seen in a while. She traced her index finger down the lapels of his jacket.

"Okay," he said, half-stumbling back.

Vala snorted at his shift, then returned to fastening the endless row of tiny buckles that seemed to hold her coat in place.

Daniel stopped and allowed himself to look, really, actually look, at Vala's outfit. It was. It looked. "You're really going to wear that?" he asked. "On a treasure hunt?"

"Why not?" Vala shrugged in a way that made Daniel decide to look at anything else, quickly. "These clothes won't be any trouble. I'm surprisingly bendy, Daniel." 

"Surprisingly," Daniel muttered. 

"Not surprisingly?" Vala stepped closer, close enough that he could feel her breath against his throat. "So you've given it some thought."

"Now I know how my daddy felt," Mitchell drawled from the doorway, "that time he found me and Sally Johansen after the church picnic."

Vala smirked as Daniel quickly walked over to the other side of the room.

***

After Daniel snatched the medallion from Vala and handed it to Mitchell for its return, she folded her arms and glared at him.

"Don't look at me," Daniel said. "I can't believe you would risk--"

"The tablet said treasure," Vala replied, "the carving said treasure, it looked like it was treasure."

"For once," Daniel said, gritting his teeth, "could you try some impulse control? Maybe some _thought_ for once instead of just--"

"If it wasn't for me," Vala interrupted, "we wouldn't even _be_ here, and-"

"And you'd sell off what could be galaxy-changing Ancient technology for, for," he gestured, "more of whatever the hell it is you're wearing."

"Do you ever, _ever_ shut up?" Vala responded. She threw her arms up and, he was pretty sure, snarled as she paced away.

Daniel found there was a small, petty part of him that felt pleased Vala's facade had cracked enough that she snapped at him. She always had him on the edge of wrong-footed--it was only fair he imbalance her back once in a while.

Teal'c stood against the wall, his eyes fixed solely on Daniel. 

"What?" Daniel said.

Teal'c opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the rings activating.

"Hey, boys and girl," Mitchell announced as he appeared, "we have definitely got some treasure on our hands."

Vala wheeled around and returned. "How much treasure?"

Mitchell laughed. "Enough for Scrooge McDuck to swim in."

She blinked and looked over at Daniel. "Does that mean a lot?"

Daniel sighed and stepped into the rings. "Come on."

***

The book made pretty much anything but holding it awkward, but Daniel managed to catch Vala's arm as she slunk past him.

Vala sighed. "Fine."

Daniel gestured to one of the techs busy cataloging. As they walked over, he carefully extricated the tiara from Vala's hair, then tossed it over to them.

It wasn't until later, after their debriefing on the _Prometheus_ , that something in the back of his mind clicked. He caught up with Vala as she wandered away from the control room.

"You took something didn't you?" he said. 

"What?" Vala put her hands on her hips. "I returned the medallion, I left the coins, you took the tiara."

"Yes," Daniel said, "and you didn't protest nearly as much as you usually would."

"Really, Daniel." Vala shifted in a way Daniel found suspicious, but her expression didn't change. "It must be difficult to live with this constant paranoia of yours."

He looked at the line of her jacket, the hem, the way she was thrumming her fingers against her hips. "You took something," he said, almost to himself. 

One of Vala's hands slid loose as she stepped forward and Daniel jerked his gaze up to hers. "Of course," she murmured, "you could always search me."

It was a second before Daniel realized he'd stepped closer to her, that he was reaching to put one of his hands to her waist. 

A few feet away, Marks pretended to cough. They were blocking the corridor, it turned out.

"Right," Daniel said. He took a step back, then two. 

"Taking my word for it?" Vala observed. "How unexpected."

Daniel wanted to contradict her, but no, Marks was still standing there. "I, uh." He looked over his shoulder. "I should probably go find Teal'c."

As he retreated, he heard Vala ask Marks: "You'd search me, wouldn't you?" Daniel was pretty certain he was glad not to hear Marks's response.

***

He found Teal'c and Mitchell in the locker room and, as he entered, their conversation suddenly halted.

"What?" Daniel asked.

"Oh, well," Mitchell said. "We were just wondering, you and her--"

"Aren't anything." Daniel shed his tac vest with more vehemence than he intended. "At all."

Teal'c folded his hands. "Vala Mal Doran is quite insistent that--"

"No," Daniel said.

"I mean," Mitchell said, shooting a look at Teal'c, "you two are awfully handsy--"

"No," Daniel said.

"And," Teal'c continued, "your own demeanor throughout this mission has been--"

"No," Daniel said.

Vala seemed to materialize out of nowhere, leaning her shoulder against the hatch. "Daniel--"

"No," Daniel said and decided to make a run for it.

As he brushed past her, Vala raised her eyebrows. "He's in a mood, isn't he?" she said to the others.

Daniel called back to them. "No." And Vala's voice seemed to chase him down the corridor.


	2. Avalon

"Honestly, Daniel," Vala said, starting to suspect he _wasn't_ as smart as she had thought, "I don't see why you're having so much difficulty understanding this." 

Daniel glared at her as they walked to the lab. "We found the treasure, so you can take off the bracelets."

"No," Vala said. "The deal was we wear the bracelets until I get my cut."

"It's funny you say 'deal' like there was actually some sort of negotiation." 

Vala preceded Daniel into the lab by an inch. "I'm not going to take the blame for your failures as a negotiator," she explained. The little man, Doctor Lee, was bustling around the Ancient device; she weaved around him to get a closer look. 

Daniel caught her by the arm and she let the tug of it pull her against him. He scowled down at her. 

"Of course," Vala continued, "if you'd like to hammer something out--" She leaned forward.

"Wow," Doctor Lee said, interrupting Vala just when she was getting to the good part. "They weren't kidding about you two." Behind Lee, Mitchell failed at stifling his laugh.

***

As they set out from Cicera home, Vala found herself leaning against Daniel's arm. It was partly, of course, so they could speak quietly, but also that if they were supposed to be married, he wouldn't be as likely to pull away. By the way he wasn't looking at her, Vala was fairly certain he was aware of that, as well.

"Definitely pre-industrial," Daniel mused, "and possibly even pre-Enlightenment, or whatever their equivalent will be."

"Enlightenment?" Vala asked.

"Oh, a period on Earth a few centuries ago," Daniel replied. "There was marked increase in reason and a greater interest in invention. Then, urbanization as a signal of more complex societies, et cetera and so forth."

"I'll admit, I never understood these little towns near the stargates," Vala observed. "Given their access to other worlds, shouldn't they have developed a bit farther than wagons and horses?" She very carefully stepped around a steaming pile of evidence of primitive technology.

Daniel shrugged, his hold on her arm tightening briefly. "If we assume the Ancients' hands-off approach developed before the majority of them ascended, it's possible planetary exchanges just never became widespread."

"Meaning," Vala followed, "humans on some worlds were much slower to consider how to adapt stargate technology in other ways."

"Right," he said. "I mean, on Earth we only figured out our stargate some years ago, and that was largely by accident."

"Really?"

"Well, yes," Daniel replied, "the gate rediscovered in Egypt didn't have its dialing device, so we couldn't just push the buttons. It wasn't until I was able to translate the markings on the gate itself that we were able to send anyone through."

Vala tilted her head to examine not-Daniel's face. "You're saying _you're_ the reason Earth is able to travel to different planets?"

He paused for a second. "In a sense."

"I knew there was a reason I liked you."

He looked at her, amused. 

"That and, you know." She slid a hand up his arm. "We really should have had sex that time."

Daniel sighed. "And here we were having an actual conversation."

"You did want me to be more honest, right?" Vala smirked. "We should probably have a conversation about our sex life."

Daniel looked around nervously. "You're lucky we're supposed to be married," he said through clenched teeth.

"Darling," Vala said, "I think we all can agree that you're the lucky one."

***

After six hours of prostration, Vala found even a possibly straw mattress a luxury. She budged over as Daniel started to examine the stones she'd found more closely; he settled next to her, absent-mindedly.

"Obviously their possession of the stones brought us here," Daniel mused, "but I wonder what would have happened to us if they didn't?"

"Didn't you say those other two people had visions of each other?" Vala recalled. "I suppose that might have happened to us."

"It's not enough we're linked," Daniel said, "we have to see out through each other's eyes, too?" He looked over at Vala and seemed to realize how close they were, their arms pressed against each other, Vala's chin resting against his shoulder.

Vala didn't feel like teasing him. "What would the point be, do you think?" She reached over to trace the stone he held in his palm.

"Well," Daniel replied, "Jack and Joe Spencer were half a country apart when they connected--maybe the terminal is only to facilitate communication between galaxies."

"And the stones themselves are for more," Vala tried to pluck the stone from his hand, "localized communication." 

"Such as it is," Daniel replied. He hadn't released the stone, so their hands were essentially clasped around it. 

Their gazes locked for a moment. It wasn't Daniel's face, Vala thought, but that look in his eyes, all frustration and intrigue at once. She'd know him anywhere. 

"You know, Daniel," Vala said, "I know this isn't what you were hoping for with the device, but." She bit her bottom lip for a moment. "If I had to be stuck here with someone, I'm glad that it's you."

"Yes, well." Daniel smiled. "I'm pretty sure Mitchell wouldn't have worn that dress nearly as well."

Vala grinned back at him. His hand tightened around hers and the stone was cool against her palm.

And downstairs someone began pounding on the door.

***

Vala hopped off the table, brushing her skirts as she tried to find a mindset that made sense for Sallis. She caught sight of the plaque next to the front door.

 _Nuptial home_. 

Two steps forward, then Vala slipped her hand behind Daniel's neck. She dipped her head and brushed her lips against his, once, and then again more firmly.

It couldn't have been more than a moment or two, but when she pulled away from him, Vala found her breath a bit short.

Vala regained her composure by winking at Fannis as she straightened up. He chuckled. "Harrid and Sallis are often so," he noted. "They've only been wed for a season."

"Leaves," Daniel said abruptly. "With the administrator's wife." 

Vala raised her eyebrows at him, which is when he seemed to notice his hands, one at her waist and one low on her hip. He withdrew with a jerk.

"Right." Vala turned toward the door, then spun back. "Could you tell me where I'm supposed to go?"

It took Fannis a minute to explain the route to Vala, but it seemed simple enough. As she stepped out the front door, she heard him ask Daniel, "And how long have you and she been wed?"

The door shut before Vala could hear his answer.

***

Vala came to consciousness with a start. Her lungs were still filled with smoke, her skin was still seared and raw.

Daniel was there. Daniel was there. 

She leaned her head against his chest. His heart was beating as fast as her own.

They had been walking only a few minutes before Vala felt steady enough to stand without Daniel's support, though she couldn't bring herself to stop clutching his hand. 

"Daniel," she whispered. The priest was a few paces in front of them, still. "What happened?"

"You, um." He looked down, then away. "I think you died."

"Oh." Vala shifted closer to him. She felt the trembles start again. 

"Vala," Daniel said. He squeezed her hand. "Are you okay?"

She took three long, slow breaths. "I'd like to pretend that didn't happen. For the moment."

"Are you sure?" 

Three breaths. Then two more. Vala put all her strength into her next smile. "Don't tell me you get your thrills feeling me up in front of a priest."

She didn't expect Daniel to laugh, so when he did, it startled her.

She liked it.


	3. The Ori

After the Prior left them, Daniel spun around to eye the room. Like a lodestone, a massive tome lying on the table caught his attention. He settled into a chair and flipped the cover open. Books had never failed him, after all.

Vala continued poking around the room, tugging on the cabinets and shifting around decorative objects. She gave the candles a wide berth.

Daniel observed for a moment before returning to the text. "Looking for some treasure?" he asked as he turned another page.

"Looking for a way out of here," she said. 

"Right." Daniel caught the glare she aimed in his direction as she pressed her full weight against the center of a mural. "They brought us here for a reason; I doubt they're going to let us wither away in a glorified conference room."

"I suppose," Vala said. She pulled another chair out, the legs squeaking against the floor. She hiked her skirts up as she stepped onto it; Daniel very carefully averted his eyes as she kneeled, then laid herself out on the table.

He continued his read for another few minutes, then realized Vala hadn't said anything the entire time. He looked at her, at her hair spread upon the tabletop, at how still her hands were.

"Hey," he said. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Her exhalation was dramatic. "I really have no idea what constitutes okay at the moment."

"Vala." Daniel reached over the book for a second, then pulled back and pressed his hand against the table. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She arched her neck, meeting his gaze upside-down. "Still no." She resettled herself. "Carry on."

Daniel watched her for a few seconds, then went back to translating.

***

They followed the Prior back onto the Plains of Celestis. Daniel kept rolling what the Doci had said around in his mind, barely registering the faint susurrations of the shallow water beneath their feet, nor the familiar whoosh of the ring transport.

As they approached Ver Eger, though, Daniel heard Vala's breath quicken. When she grabbed his hand, he didn't think, just pulled her closer and slid his arm around her waist. She was, barely, shaking as she leaned against him. At the outskirts of the village, Daniel turned towards the Prior. "What are we supposed to--"

But the Prior was already walking away.

"I guess it's up to us," Vala said. Without discussion, they made their way back to the Cicera home. Vala stepped forward to pull the door open; Daniel let his arm drop back to his side. She was already halfway into the room as he pushed the door closed. "Do you think we'll have to go to prostration again?"

"I don't think so," he replied. "I would guess their routine is consistent from day to day." He peered out the window, looking at the sky. "If I'm right, they probably finished prostration a couple of hours ago."

"On the bright side," Vala noted, "I probably don't have to share leaves with the administrator's wife again."

***

Vala had started pacing around the room. Daniel noticed another copy of _The Book of Origins_ on a side table. He flipped the cover open, turned a few pages through. He'd just started reading another fable when Vala interrupted.

"What should we do now?" she asked.

He looked around the house, already familiar to him. "You still hungry?" He walked further into what seemed to be the kitchen area.

Vala spun around and followed his path towards a cabinet set against the wall. "I hope you aren't expecting me to cook," she remarked.

Daniel looked up from where he'd been rummaging. "Of course I--" Her expression, he realized, was entirely amused. "Funny." He held up a loaf of bread and a wedge of cheese, wrapped in cloth. "I think I can manage a sandwich on my own."

Even so, he handed the food to Vala so he could grab a pair of elaborately carved cups (his mind noted they were probably ceremonial, maybe from the wedding) and what he had discovered previously was a bottle of watered wine.

They sat across from each other at the table, sharing out the bread and cheese, as well as a few pears. The meal was almost finished when Vala finally broke the silence. "I understand wanting to learn the secrets of the universe, whatever those are."

"It's less complicated than you'd think. You need a certain," he chuckled, "purity of spirit."

Vala rolled her eyes at him. "If the Ori claim they'll reward their followers, then why are all these people still here?" She took another sip of wine, thinking. "Shouldn't many of them have ascended already? How did it work for you?"

"That's...a long story." Daniel couldn't suppress a shiver, remembering an echo of the radiation he'd died from. Not unlike fire, he realized.

When he didn't elaborate further, Vala continued. "So every once in a while, they make a Prior, and that's enough for an entire galaxy of people?"

Daniel nodded a couple of times. "If most of these planets are at the same level of technology as Ver Eger, it would be fair to assume there isn't a lot of interplanetary communication." Then he reconsidered. "Or even long-distance communication on the same planet."

"Probably." Vala made a sound that was remarkably like a growl. "It's going to take forever for these little resistance cells to gain any momentum. At least in our galaxy we have some ways to warn each other."

Daniel watched how her shoulders tightened, how her hands had clenched into fists. "You seem pretty gung-ho to start a revolution." He smiled. "Or are you just worried someone might get a hold of your stash? 

He thought he had said it jokingly enough, but he quickly realized Vala wasn't laughing.

"Daniel," she said, looking down at her hands for a moment, "just because I want to provide for myself doesn't mean I'm not capable of caring."

"Vala, I didn't mean," he shook his head, "no, of course you care, I'm sorry." He leaned forward to catch her eye. "I guess I'm kind of used to pushing for these, you know, quests on my own. It usually takes some convincing."

She frowned. "I wouldn't think Mitchell and Muscles would--"

Daniel snorted. "No, but I'm the only one who isn't military," he explained. "When we talk about missions, I usually mean something a little different than they do."

A smile twitched Vala's lips for a second. "I knew there was a reason I liked you," she said once again.

Something in her eyes made him want to stand, to take a step back. Instead he asked, "Because if someone tells me they're stealing my spaceship for humanitarian reasons, I'll probably believe them?"

Her expression shifted back to something more familiar. More playful. "I do find a surefire mark irresistible," she replied.

They smiled at each other for a minute, then Daniel remembered. Planning. "We need to figure out where they're keeping the Ancient terminal."

Vala shrugged. "Lucky for you I'm remarkably good at finding hidden valuables."

"Lucky for me," Daniel responded, and watched as Vala scratched out a diagram of the village.

***

And when they were chained on the altar, back to back, the fire approached faster than he could perceive it.

It occurred to him that he couldn't reach out to Vala. He'd seen her face as the shackles had been secured. He didn't want her to feel so alone again.

The flames were terrifying, yes, but Daniel couldn't help but wish she didn't have to go through this all again.

It was a last, morbid thought before they were overtaken, but Daniel was pretty certain he'd never recommend dying more than once to anyone.

***

Doctor Lam and Doctor Lee peppered them with questions, checked vitals, snapped numbers to each other like it was tennis.

Even so, Daniel couldn't hear them, really, as he sat up and looked at Vala. Saw the way she rubbed her arms, how she put her hand to her throat.

"Sallis and Harrid," she said to him alone. "If we were--"

Daniel nodded but he couldn't manage to speak.

It wasn't long before Landry, at least, noticed how unsettled he and Vala were. He dismissed the two of them, to the doctors' protests. "You can poke them all you want after they recover a little."

Daniel nodded his thanks to Landry as he stood and tugged off the various wires attached to him.

Vala followed him as he returned to his quarters, slipped into the room before the door clicked shut. He didn't bother to protest, didn't even think to. He just turned his back as she clothed herself in a set of BDUs one of the nurses had handed her. Set his mind to getting dressed quickly himself.

He turned when she murmured his name and it seemed almost natural when she walked into his arms, rested her cheek against his shoulder.

Her voice was muffled when she spoke. "They seemed like good people."

"Yeah," he agreed. He rubbed a circle on her back, and then another. "And Fannis probably saved our lives."

"Do you think," she started, then paused. 

"What?"

"Do you think," she began again, "we're the only ones to mourn them?"

"No," he responded automatically, then thought again. "No. There must have been more resistance members there. Even if they can't do anything publicly, I'm sure they'll find an appropriate way to honor them."

A brief silence, then Vala's arms tightened around him. "Right." She stepped back. Swiped the back of her hand over her eyes before taking a deep breath. "The key for the bracelets--it's in the case with the other artifacts I brought."

Daniel blinked. "We probably should have thought of that."

"Yes." Vala patted him on the chest a couple of times, then headed for the door. "You probably should have."

***

After the briefing, Vala had gone off to the cafeteria, followed by Mitchell, who had promised to make sure the cafeteria survived the experience. Suddenly, surprisingly, Daniel found himself on his own. He stood in the hall for a minute, almost certain the solitude was an illusion. But no, no alarms, no Marines sprinting down the corridor. No sense of impending doom.

So, of course, he'd only _just_ begun to sort through his tasks when Jack sauntered in.

Well, he wasn't all that excited about checking his email anyway.

As they walked, Jack looked at him sideways. "So."

Daniel sighed. "Let me guess."

"I was catching up with Teal'c," Jack continued. "New girlfriend?"

"She's not. I mean," Daniel stepped to the side to pass a couple of techs. "You know, she's said a lot of things, but honestly that's really an overstatement."

"A simple no would have done it," Jack observed.

The doors to the cafeteria swung open. Vala had a plate full of Jell-o and was poking it carefully with a fork.

***

They watched the elevator doors close on Mitchell and Jack. "So what happens now?" Vala asked, no pretense in her voice.

Daniel thought it over. "You must be tired," he finally said. Vala hummed in quiet assent. Daniel watched her wrap her arms around herself. 

"Come on." He put a hand on her shoulder, squeezed lightly. "I'll get you set up in guest quarters."

Vala leaned against him for a second. "That's surprisingly nice of you," she said.

"And arrange for your security escort," Daniel said.

Vala grinned. "That's more like it." 

**Author's Note:**

> Summary adapted from Fiona Apple's [Paper Bag](https://genius.com/Fiona-apple-paper-bag-lyrics).


End file.
